CHAPTER 3: The Secret Queen and the Cat

The face was not squarish, it was heart shaped, the nose a perfect button, eyes liquid and limpid, the shade of aquamarine she had never seen before. Skin pinkish, thick red lashes, and a bone structure that would put a supermodel to shame. The face in the mirror was the most enchanting she had ever seen. Still dumbfounded she put away the mirror in the satchel and further rummaged through the house, hoping for a map.

She did find something else though.

It was a piece of wrinkly paper, brittle to touch. It was the size of poster board and what looked like her image was drawn on the paper. She couldn’t make out the writing. She squinted, and the scribblings swam and danced before her eyes. She blinked again and, focused, till the scribblings stopped their dancing, after a couple of minutes she could read it.

WANTED: IVORIE RAYANNE

REWARD: 500,000 Gold crowns

Was she some sort of criminal?

She gulped hard.

She found an ornately made metal canteen in the trunk in the tiny bedroom and assessed what she needed to do. She filled the canteen with water from the kitchen’s water pump, and put the cape on her shoulders, draping it over one shoulder, under her left armpit and tying it securely. She took the tinder rocks and had no idea where she was going.

She missed her son.

Eric was the outdoorsy type who loved to camp. At 19, he was quite the outdoorsman. Though Emily loved forests, all she could stand were long daytime treks. Overnight stays were another matter. She had allergies to mosquito bites. Eric would know what to do. She wondered where the cat went. Would she leave? Or would she just look forage for food and come back. The thought of dying from hypothermia terrified her. She decided that she better forage first. She had to have a rough idea who wanted her, who set out the reward, and where she would go. She put back the things in the trunk and started exploring the forest.

She heard a scurrying and turned, expecting the cat.

But she gasped in surprise.

In front of her, was an animal that she only thought lived in myth.

It was the size of a small goat, with brown and black fur, but built like a gazelle, it was grazing ever so daintily at a clump of small ferns. But what took Emily’s breath away was the small brown horn that grew in the center of the wee beast’s forehead.

The horn was around five inches long. The beast had a thick, glossy, dark brown mane. She felt great delight at seeing the animal, for some reason, some euphoria bubbled up in her soul. Perhaps it was the beast’s eyes, there were rainbows and sunny skies, reflected therein and the promise of happy days ahead. She was drawn in the by the images reflected in the limpid eyes. The unicorn snorted and shook its’ head, Emily’s reverie was broken. Emily had no idea that she was so close, that she could smell the breath of the beast and the it’s breath. Which smelled like minty clover.

The beast took a step behind ,and slowly walked away.

The beast had a wooden chain around its neck and on it hung a small red stone.

Emily cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, have you seen, er, a small grey cat?” The unicorn neighed and walked away.

She wanted to stop the wondrous beast, she wanted to do nothing but gaze into it’s ice.

A familiar voice jolted her back into reality.

“Not all of us can talk, you know. In the old days, the kings and queens forbade the hunting of those unicorns, because they cured sickness, you know sadness. And dragons used to keep them as pets. The stone around that beast’s neck meant that it was part of the royal herd. They live unnaturally long lives you know, that one, well it’s probably at least three hundred years. I saw a couple of them back in the field, mingling with some horses.”

It was Aleksdayer Dinarium. The cat.

Grinning, seated with all four paws tucked neatly beneath him. She looked for the source of his voice. It was to her left. The cat was looking at her with an amused expression from a high tree branch.

“There’s a peach tree and a bunch of apple trees that way,” he pointed with his tail to the south. She tilted her head that way, there was a well-trod path beaten unto the grown. Though years of disuse had left a thin trail of grass, it was still, obviously a path.

“Is there a village nearby?”

The cat shook his head sadly from side to side.

“This is Ostarii, this place has been cursed. There are no more people here, you ‘ll be finding some empty villages to the East t but your best bet would be going West, the Fyre Kingdoms, ruled by dragons, the South is Arverya but I’ll do you the courtesy of warning you not to go there, it’s ruled by four sister witches, and it’s just scary there. My name is Alexsdayer of the house Dinarium, minters of coin. “

“Are there any places ruled by normal people?”

“You must cross the Silver Sea. On foot, that would take you at least two months. Maybe you can work out by crossing the Fyre kingdom, just don’t get caught by slave traders, people like you end up as slaves there. But there’s a short cut through the weeping mountains to the port town of Ayesmouth. This kingdom used to be full of people though. This was a great place to be. ” The cat licked his mouth, and then his left paw. Seemingly deep in thought and choosing his words ever so carefully.

“Listen, why don’t you go to the ghost villages, scrounge around for any money or valuables you can find there, then try your luck over to Ayesmouth. What trade do you practice?”

Emily sat on her haunches.

Not so much scared at the talking cat, but stunned as to remember that she did have a life before all of this.

Then Aleksdayer jumped in a single bound to her and wound himself around her ankles. Emily paused. Would a major in accounting count? She took a breath and spoke in a voice that she didn’t recognize as her own.

“I just realized, that my skills are of no use here.”

“What are they, anyway?”

“I had a degree in accounting. Back in my world, every merchant needed one. Every business. I am good at numbers, adding, subtracting, multiplying. I had perfect grades in Statistics.” She suddenly realized that all of that was irrelevant now.

“Can you sing or dance?”

“Huh?”

“Well, Glee men or glee women are always welcome in any town. Singing for your supper is not frowned upon here.”

Emily didn’t want to ask but she had to. She was a stranger in a strange land. The cat had mentioned dragons. Unicorns were wonderful and all, but what on earth would she do if she came across a dragon, do they eat people?

She opened her mouth timidly.

“Can you come with me?” The cat looked appalled at her question, stared at her fixedly and licked its chops delicately. The cat then proceeded to lick his right paw and looked at her pointedly.

“I am sorry, what is your name again?”

“Emily.”

“What an unusual name. Emily, see, my sole job is to wait for a particular guest. I’m supposed to be waiting there at the cottage. Leaving it would be abandonment of post.” Emily raised her eyebrow.

The cat really was a jerk.

“If I were you, I’d practice my singing and dancing.”

“How many guests have you had, since I came along?”

Aleksdayer pretended to ignore the question and began to groom himself.

Ivorie sat on a particularly large tree root and put her head in her hands.

She needed all her logic to solve this problem.